Co-Writers
by LaLahMe
Summary: It's not everyday for her to be enjoying a nice meal in a café, then this pink haired guy pops out of nowhere, sticks a hand in her face and asks her to work together with him? Life is full of surprises.


**Co-Writers**

* * *

"Lets work together."

Lucy stared at his outstretched hand in confusion. Was this a new euphemism for dating? She wasn't up to date with pick up lines, so this was a new one. She had to give him points for originality. Here she was, enjoying a nice meal in a café, then this pink haired guy pops out of nowhere, sticks a hand in her face and asks her to work together with him?

"What?"

He took a seat across from her, grinning. "My name is Natsu and I want us to work together."

"Work together?" She repeated, staring at him weirdly. "On what?"

Natsu happily answered. "I have big dreams to become an author and you have to be the one to help me achieve it." This was good. She wasn't running away from his sudden appearance. So he was pretty pleased that she was asking questions.

Lucy stared at him blankly. She loved reading and writing became apart of that hobby. "And what does that have to do with me?"

"You see…" Natsu scratched the back of his head nervously. "I have really bad spelling and lets just say, I'm not the smartest person alive. I have a really imaginative mind and I know you have really good ideas but you're too afraid to show them. I heard that you wrote some stories but didn't want to show anyone. I think that we can both cover up each other's flaws and become co-writers." It felt nice to share his dream with her.

"And you know this how?" She couldn't tell if this was worse than being hit on. How did he even know all this information? _Stalker _much.

"My friend Levy," he replied. The other day, he was talking to Levy and was really interested on hearing about her best friend. That was how he found himself walking to the café to find her.

Lucy was surprised to know that this random boy knew her best friend. She was also flattered that Levy talked about her. "You know, there are other authors too, right? Some of them are better than me."

"No, it has to be you." He had examined every other candidate and knew she was the best one. "There may be better ones but they can write a book on their own. You, need some help in confidence with your writing. I, need help with spelling, punctuation and grammar. We both have great plot ideas. Us together, will create one awesome author with best selling books."

"So you want to be an author but you have problems with spelling, punctuation and grammar?" Lucy questioned. That was strange. If he loved writing, then his English would've been fantastic with high marks.

Natsu frowned slightly but immediately covered up with a small smile. "I'm dyslexic."

Lucy's eyes widened at how rude she must've sounded from her last question. "Really? I'm so sorry! I didn't know…" She looked away, biting her lip.

"It's fine, really. I don't mind." She looked so sad that it hurt. "So what do you say?"

She searched his face anxiously and sighed. "I can't…" She stood up from her seat to walk out of the café.

Natsu followed her out of the café, he was persistent. "You can't or you won't?"

"Aren't they the same thing?" She gave him sideward glance. "Besides, what if our ideas clash?"

"I'm happy to write about anything." Natsu replied. He had to let her know it was only her that he would work with. "Out of all people who want to become authors, you really stood out to me. There was just something about you."

"Right."

Natsu took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "Look, you don't have to make a decision now but just think about it, okay?" He handed it over to her. "Here, read it. It might make your decision easier."

Lucy observed the paper before taking it. "What is it?"

"It's a story for you to help you change your mind." He smiled, it was his last option. It needed to work. "Please just read it and you can throw it away after if you want."

He seemed really eager to do this. She sighed. "Fine."

"Great!" What a relief. If she had rejected it, it would've been game over. "Well make sure you read it!" He waved his hand before walking away with his fingers crossed.

Lucy looked at the folded paper before unfolding it. It must've been a short story since it was on one page, back to back. The writing was typed so she guessed he probably used spell check. There were no commas and a lot of the punctuation was incorrect however.

_In a peaceful town lived a young boy. The boy was a cheerful and happy person. His life was great. He had a family and a home and two best friends. One was a girl and the other was a boy. They were both bigger and older and much stronger than himself. The three friends did everything together. One day the girl brought something to show the two boys. It was a book with pictures and words. At first the boys didn't understand what it was. The more they looked at the pages the more they understood. The book transported them into other worlds meeting new people and visiting new places. They laughed and they cried and couldn't wait to read more. Soon they read more books together. They loved it so much they made a promise. The promise was that one day they would make a book that would bring friends together like themselves. However as they grew older things changed. The older boy became more interested in sport and working out. Whenever they talked it usually ended with an argument. The girl became too busy with studying and had no time for distractions. She was a lot scarier. The boy now older still held onto that promise. They were still friends but he missed those days of reading on the beach. It was the happiest time of his life. He wanted to bring those happy days back and to remind them of those great memories._

She flipped the page over.

_The boy decided to follow his dream. He wanted to do everything to make his dream come true. He knew he couldn't because of one weakness—he couldn't spell and his grammar was horrible. Spelling was not a problem with spellcheck but grammar was. No matter how much he tried to improve it was impossible. He had a learning disorder making everything harder than it should be. If he couldn't do it he had to find someone else to help him edit his work. He searched for someone to help him with writing. He searched for days and days which turned into weeks and weeks that turned into months until he found someone. It was a girl who also loved to write but was never confident with other people reading it. He wanted to help her and she could help him. Together, they would make a great series together. He asked her but she rejected him. It didn't discourage him. He told her he would be waiting if she ever changed her mind. He said that they would meet again in Magnolia Town Plaza in a shop called The Book Place. He waited and waited and waited…_

Lucy stared at the paper after she finished reading it and blinked a few times. She didn't know what to think. The story was great and the boy in it was most definitely Natsu. She wondered who the other two friends are.

In the end, she ended up going to The Book Place. She walked in to see many shelves filled with books. It was a huge bookstore with many books to read. She walked around, spotting pink hair behind the book shelf she was looking at.

She took out a book to reveal his face. "Natsu."

He smiled as soon as he saw her. "You came."

"I came to give you my answer."

He knew what she was going to say with her tone of voice. He tried to cover up his disappointment. "I want to show you something first."

"Look, I ca-"

He quickly interrupted her, walking away to talk to where she was so he could talk to her face to face. He didn't want a book shelf between them. When he arrived, he showed her a book in his hand. "Have you ever read this book?"

"Love & Lucky?" That was the title of the book. The name sounded familiar to her. She gazed at it for a while and tried to figure out where she heard it from.

He told her. "This is the first book I read, this is actually the first in the series. After reading it, I read all the other ones. There are seven in the series."

"So that's the book your friend got?" She asked him, curiously.

He nodded. "The truth is…there was another reason why I chose you to be my co-writer," he admitted.

"Which is?"

"The author's name of this book was J.H Heart," he responded.

"So?"

"J.H Heart is just a penname. His real name is…" He paused, for a dramatic effect. "Jude Heartfilia."

She gasped. No way—

Her father was a rich businessman that owned a company. He was a man she held many memories of. For as long as she remembered, he never welcomed her warmly at the manor. He was always too busy for anyone. That was one of the reasons why she ran away from home.

She grabbed the book from him and stared at the beautiful book. Natsu continued to talk. "It was J.H Heart's only success. The book had a great storyline. He was my favorite author because he was my first but a couple years ago, he stopped writing entirely. You wouldn't know what he's up to now, would you?"

Her face fell. "No I don't."

He watched her face sadden, then he glanced at the book. "You know, the prefaces of each book had always confused me but I think I understand now."

Lucy turned to the preface of the book and read it.

_Dedicated to my lovely daughter, who I want to show, the joy of chasing after dreams._

"Father…"

Natsu stared at her with sympathetic eyes. He guessed that growing up wasn't easy for her. She probably had a hard life with him. The Heartfilia household stood at forefront of the company world after all. They must've worked really hard every day. It was only by pure chance he found out J.H Heart's real identity.

"I…I never had a dream before," she confessed. "All my life, I was told what to do and how to do it. I couldn't dream because I followed. I guess my life had no expectations or dreams." She handed the book back to Natsu. "I don't know what I want. I don't really know what to do in the future. I'm sorry but I don't think I can help you."

Natsu looked at her, sadly. Despite everything, she refused to work with him. He had to break a promise and go to his last option.

He took a deep breath before finally saying it. "I know where your father is."

Her head snapped up towards him.

"The only reason why I know where your father is because he told me himself."

Was that a lie? "Where is he?" she demanded.

He looked down. "I can't tell you that."

Lucy mentally cursed.

"I want us to work together. You'll help me with my dream. Then I'll help find yours," he smiled, back up at her. "So what's your answer?"

She watched as he was about to put the book back onto the shelf. "Wait." She took the book out of his hands. "If this is my father's, I'm going to read it."

"Does this mean…?" He trailed off, hoping that she would finish it.

She smiled at him. "Yes I will do it. You convinced me to help you."

He beamed at her. "Can you excuse me for a moment?"

"Sure…"

She watched as he ran through the shelves and outside the shop. Curiously, she followed him and looked through the glass window to see him jumping up and down and screaming, "YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Then he caught her peeking through the window and stumbled. She giggled.

He came back in and scratched his head with embarrassment. "You weren't supposed to see that."

"Sorry."

"No, you made my day." He looked so happy, that it made her smile back. "So do you really want to know about your father?"

"Ye-" Lucy stopped herself. "You can tell me later."

He sighed in relief. "Phew, because I don't know where he is."

She blinked, surprised. "You lied to me?"

"No, it was a bluff," he shrugged. "I wasn't lying when I said I met your dad though."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

He nodded thoughtfully. "It was a long time ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday."

"So what did you talk about?" She asked. She hadn't talked to her father in so long and was curious to know how he had been after she left.

He answered truthfully. "Nothing much. I didn't even know who he was until he told me. The thing I remembered most were his words."

His words? Since when did her father speak something that was worth remembering? "What were they?"

Natsu grinned as he remembered them. "To accomplish great things, you must not only act, but dream; not only plan, but also believe."

Lucy tried to imagine the words coming out of her father's mouth. It sounded so foreign. She couldn't imagine it at all, no matter how much she tried. Her father never told her to dream. Perhaps the only way she could truly understand everything was through this boy.

There was a moment of silence as they were both deep in their thoughts. Lucy was thinking about her father while Natsu was remembering what he said when they met.

"So what now?" she wondered out loud.

He broke out of his daze before answering, "We need a pen name."

She agreed. She didn't want any of her friends to know she was writing a novel with this boy. "What should our name be?"

"How about…" He grinned. "Hiro Mashima?"

"How on earth did you come up with that?" She gave him a weird look. "I mean, that would be suitable for manga writers, but we're authors."

"I think it's cool! But fine, lets think of something else…" Natsu began thinking. "How about we combine our names into one?" he suggested. "Like how they do with celebrity couples?"

"Um...sure?"

"So I was thinking…" Natsu replied. "How about NaLu?"

It took some time to realise what he just said. The implication made them both blush.

Once she calmed down from their awkward moment, she finally answered. "It sounds fine."

"Great! NaLu it is!" he declared happily.

Lucy smiled along with him.

"We're going to blow everyone away with our story!" Natsu exclaimed enthusiastically.

Little did they know how true those words were going to be.

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**A/N: So this isn't the end yet of course! I'm planning to do more chapters and I've also planned out the plot (The main parts) :) By the way, this will be a slightly AU fic. There's no magic/mages, but it's still set in Magnolia Town and everything.**

**Here's some things you'll see in the story:**

**- Writing their first book **

**- Lucy reading her father's books**

**- Fairy Tail**

**- Family problems/Money problems**

**- Lots of NaLu! **

**- Other Couples: Gruvia, GaLe, Jerza, RoWen (Basically all the couples I support) and maybe some others.**

**So yeah, there's going to be a lot happening and I'm really excited.**

**Please review if you read :D I'd love to know what you think/help me with mistakes.**


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